Does Bread Type Affect Mold?

Problem Scenario

Knowing what bread types mold the fastest help you know what kinds of bread to buy, so that if you don't eat bread quickly, it will last longer.

Broad Question

What bread types grow mold the fastest?

Specific Question

Does bread type affect the growing rate of bread mold?

Hypothesis

Yes, bread type does effect the growing of mold on bread.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Bread Type

Dependent Variable:

Mold Growth

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Temperature and location of the bread.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

I will conduct my experiment in my kitchen closet. Nobody uses my kitchen closet so nothing will disturb the bread. I will be measuring the grams of mold grown over a period of 24 days. I will weigh the bread at the beginning and end of the experiment and then subtract the difference. There is always the chance of the heat going out in my house which will cause a bump in the growth. The problem with molding bread is that it will eventually start smelling and since my dad gets a lot of company, somebody could be allergic to the mold. I will use 5 of each type for the experiment.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
White Bread	1	Shaw's
Wheat Bread	1	Shaw's
Raisin	1	Shaw's
Oatmeal	1	Shaw's

Detailed Procedure

1. Buy four types of bread.
2. Weigh bread (in grams).
3. Put bread in a safe, undisturbed place.
4. Check bread every two days.
5. When necessary take pictures.
6. After 24 days weigh bread.
7. Subtract the difference.
8. Record your data.
9. Congratulations! You've completed the project!

Diagram

Photo List

Time Line

Feb. 14,2013 Start Project; Feb.19 take pictures; Feb. 28 weigh bread; March 1,2013 weigh bread and finish project

Data Table

White Bread	Wheat Bread	Raisin Bread	Oatmeal Bread
23.9 grams	30.1 grams	31.6 grams	41.6 grams
18.8 grams	28.3 grams	23.1 grams	40.3 grams

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

Results

Conclusion

In conclusion, none of my bread grew mold. I do not quite know what went wrong. I kept the bread in the same spot for the 27 days, I even kept it out for a little longer and it still failed to mold. The white bread got extremely hard, as well as the raisin bread. The wheat and oatmeal bread still stayed soft. Each of the types of bread were left in closed zip-lock baggies with a little bit of air in them to help the mold. They were all left in the kitchen closet, without being touched except for when I took the pictures. Therefore, my hypothesis was wrong and the white, nor any of the other bread types grew mold.

Discussion

Unfortunately, my hypothesis was VERY incorrect. The white bread did not mold, neither did the wheat, raisin, or oatmeal. I have no clue what went wrong with my experiment Perhaps, nothing went wrong at all. I only ended up proving my hypothesis wrong. I would defiantly want to do this experiment again though and leave it out until it actually begins to mold. Unfortunately I couldn't continue the experiment too much farther because of the time I had to complete the experiment.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

This project is good for the community because it could help save money. Saving money is a big help today with our economic crash. With our economy issue money is a very precious, save worthy item. If people buy bread that doesn't mold, or turn hard, it helps to save the money so that, if people don't eat the bread as quickly, they won't be throwing about $5 out the trash.

Background Research

In my background research I found out that bread should start molding in the first 48 hours of the experiment. However, my bread did not start molding until a few days into the experiment. I put it in my kitchen closet in bags with a little bit of air in them to help the mold grow. The bread didn't start molding for a few days. Therefore, somehow, I proved other people who did this experiment wrong. My bread, being our for a period of 27 days did not mold at all.

References

Abstract

I did this project because I wanted to know what type of bread grew the most mold in the same period of time. My family tends to not use too much bread, and whenever we actually buy bread it always gets moldy because we never eat it in time. I wanted to save my family some money so that if we wanted to buy bread it would last longer. We usually buy white or wheat bread so I made sure that those were two of my choices.